How to Read a Cricket Scorecard: Beginner's Guide

Cricket Guides · Cricket Scoring

How to Read a Cricket Scorecard: A Beginner's Guide

Read any scorecard from top to bottom: the total, batting and bowling figures, extras, abbreviations and the result, with a worked example for each.

To read a cricket scorecard, start with the team total and overs, then check each batter's runs and strike rate, each bowler's figures and economy, the extras, the fall of wickets and finally the result. Each part answers a different question about the match.

A scorecard is more than a record of runs and wickets. It shows who batted well, who took wickets, how fast the team scored and how the innings unfolded. If you want to follow a match without watching every ball, this guide takes you through it step by step.

Key takeaway

Do not stop at the total. Read the batting, bowling, extras and fall of wickets together to see how the match really went. The examples below use made-up players and scores.

Every scorecard has four parts. Hover over a card to see what each one tells you.

Reading the team total and overs

The first thing to check is the team's total, written as runs for wickets, followed by the overs bowled. Here is a hypothetical T20 example.

Team A	Meaning
156/4	156 runs scored and 4 wickets lost
18.2 overs	18 complete overs and 2 legal balls bowled
Run rate 8.51	The team has scored about 8.51 runs per over

Overs are not decimals

18.2 overs means 18 overs and two balls, not 18.2 in decimal terms. For the run rate, convert it to 18⅓ overs: 156 ÷ 18.33 = 8.51.

Batting figures on a scorecard

The batting section shows how each player scored. A typical line lists runs, balls faced, fours, sixes and strike rate. Here is a hypothetical entry.

Batter	R	B	4s	6s	SR
A. Sharma	54	38	6	2	142.11

A. Sharma scored 54 runs from 38 balls, with six fours and two sixes. R is runs, B is balls faced, and SR is strike rate.

Strike rate formula

Strike rate = runs scored ÷ balls faced × 100. For A. Sharma, 54 ÷ 38 × 100 = 142.11. A higher strike rate generally means faster scoring, especially in T20 cricket.

Bowling figures on a scorecard

The bowling section shows how each bowler performed. Figures are written as overs, maidens, runs and wickets. The common labels are O for overs, M for maidens, R for runs conceded, W for wickets and Econ for economy rate.

Bowler	O	M	R	W	Econ
R. Patel	4	0	28	2	7.00

R. Patel bowled four overs, conceded 28 runs and took two wickets. A maiden is an over in which the bowler concedes no runs.

Economy rate formula

Economy rate = runs conceded ÷ overs bowled. For R. Patel, 28 ÷ 4 = 7.00. A lower economy rate generally means the bowler restricted scoring well.

Extras and fall of wickets

Not every run belongs to a batter. Extras are additional runs awarded to the batting team, and a scorecard usually shows them like this: Extras 12 (b 2, lb 3, wd 5, nb 2). They count towards the team total but not to any individual batter, and 2 + 3 + 5 + 2 adds up to 12.

Label	Extra	Charged to the bowler?
b	Byes	No
lb	Leg-byes	No
wd	Wides	Generally yes
nb	No-balls	Generally yes

Extras are easy to record wrongly, so see common cricket scoring mistakes if you score matches yourself.

Fall of wickets

This line shows the team score when each wicket fell. For example, 1-24, 2-68, 3-105, 4-140 means the first wicket fell at 24, the second at 68, the third at 105 and the fourth at 140. The gaps show the partnerships: 44 runs between the first two wickets, 37 between the second and third, and 35 between the third and fourth. Big gaps point to partnerships, while a cluster of close scores points to a collapse.

How a batter got out

Next to each batter's name, the scorecard shows how the innings ended. These are hypothetical entries.

Scorecard entry	Meaning
c Kumar b Patel	Caught by Kumar, bowled by Patel
b Patel	Bowled by Patel
lbw b Patel	Leg before wicket, bowler Patel
st Rao b Khan	Stumped by the keeper Rao, bowler Khan
c & b Patel	Caught and bowled by Patel
run out (Das)	Run out, with Das involved in the run-out
not out	The innings was not ended by a dismissal

To see what each method means, read our guide to cricket dismissal rules.

Reading the result

With the totals understood, the result line is easy to follow. Suppose Team A scored 180/6 and Team B finished on 176/8. Team A won by 4 runs, because Team B fell four short.

When the team batting second wins, the result is given in wickets, such as won by 5 wickets. That means they reached the target with five wickets still in hand. The result line gives the outcome, and the rest of the scorecard explains how the match got there.

To open live scorecards, see how to find and follow cricket matches and live scores.

Put your scorecard skills to use

Follow the numbers as they change. Explore CricLive for ball-by-ball updates and detailed scorecards.

Explore CricLive

Frequently asked questions

What does 100/3 mean in a cricket scorecard?

It means the batting team has scored 100 runs and lost three wickets.

What does 20.4 overs mean?

It means 20 complete overs and four legal deliveries have been bowled. The number after the decimal counts balls, not a fraction of an over.

What does SR mean on a cricket scorecard?

SR is strike rate, the number of runs a batter scores per 100 balls faced.

What does ECON mean on a cricket scorecard?

ECON is economy rate, the average number of runs a bowler concedes per over.

What is the difference between runs and extras?

Runs credited to a batter come from their own batting. Extras are additional runs awarded to the team through byes, leg-byes, wides, no-balls and penalty runs.

How do I read a cricket scorecard quickly?

Start with the team total and overs, then check the top batters and bowlers, the extras and the fall of wickets, and finish with the result line.

Conclusion

A scorecard can look complicated at first, but every number has a purpose. The total shows where the match stands, batting figures show who scored, bowling figures show who controlled the innings, and extras and the fall of wickets fill in the rest.

Next time you check a live score, read the story behind the numbers instead of stopping at the total.